This is the first in a series of articles discussing proactive management of key elements involved in creating high-quality digital images. In this segment, I’ll review use of the SpyderCUBE in managing dynamic range and exposure.

The simplest take-away from the oft-misunderstood Zone System, is that an image should be exposed to utilize the most or all of the range from black to white, without unintended clipping of near-whites, or blocking up of near- blacks. If the image does not incorporate the full dynamic range in a scene, the photographer should have done this by intent.

In digital photography, the most commonly recommended camera settings involve protecting detail in the brightest parts of the image, and correcting everything else in post-processing.